Food Revolution....Yeah!!!!!

Image by marymaddux6272 via Flickr

 So, I am TOTALLY hooked on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution showing here on TV at the moment. I have been a fan of Jamie's cooking shows and recipes for years now. (His Yorkshire Pudding recipe rocks!)
And I have heard of the good influence he has had in the UK school system.

Kudos to Jamie for coming to America! As far as I have heard, a lot of the food served in schools here (including my own kids elementary school) are fast foods. Yes, I will also say that a healthy alternative is given at some schools - it is at my kids' school anyway. But I am pretty sure that it isn't the case everywhere.

Yes, I am the mother of a very picky 6 year old, who would much rather be eating cookies, candy and ice-cream. And that's all the more reason why I think this programme is so important! The last few weeks in our home come dinner time, has been one of constant negotiations to get him to eat his veggies. I am not one of those mom's who'll cook 3 different meals every night, in order for every family member to eat and be happy. Agree, or disagree with me, but I just won't do it.

Jamie said it perfectly on the show, when he said the kids might not want to drink the natural milk, over the sugar loaded chocolate and strawberry milk. But take the bad options away, and keep giving them the healthy alternative, and they'll get used to it!

Call me the eternal optimist, but I have always dished up mashed potatoes to my 6 year old......
He. HATES. Mashed. Potatoes!
Can that be normal, I ask myself ???? He hates it probably as much as I hate green beans....and that's a LOT!!! But there is a persistent, nagging, motherly trait, deep, deep, inside of me, that believes.....truly believes....that my son will one day wolf down his mashed potatoes with gusto! (It's my dream, and I'm sticking with it!)

So go on people, have a look for the Food Revolution badge on the right of the screen, and click on it to sign the petition to help Jamie make a difference.....you know you want to!

It sounds like my kinda gum!

It's not that I don't like cooking....cooking I can handle. It's that dreaded question I ask myself  EVERY day, and the energy expended trying to figure out the answer to said question.
WHAT AM I GOING TO COOK FOR DINNER TONIGHT???????

Oh, the horror!! It's the same, boring question day after day. Constantly trying to think of new ways to cook a chicken breast, I mean how many ways can there be?? I scour my cookbooks, go to the internet cooking sites, and even resort to reading the back of the soup cans for new recipes. All this to inspire my
uninspired cooking brain! It seems futile most days.

I open the fridge, and stare in the freezer to check the meat situation. Then I open the pantry and stare inside, hoping 'something' might jump out at me. Then I check the vegetable drawer to see what's lying in there.
On a good day, a meal will form in my head within seconds.......such joy!! Sadly, those days are the exception and not the rule! It's the monotony that gets to me, I think.
 I DO try new recipes, don't get me wrong, but the chances that my new Parmesan Chicken will be liked by all 3 men in my house are slim. And if I do find a new recipe that everyone enjoys....woohoooo!!!

One of my favourite scenes in a movie has to be the one from Charlie & the Chocolate factory. In which a young girl by the name of Violet Beauregarde has her first taste of a bubble gum meal. She chews on the gum, and voila!! First, the tomato soup, then the roast beef and baked potatoes, lastly the blueberry pie & ice-cream.

Glorious!!! Can you even begin to imagine how wonderful this would be???
All of my culinary problems sorted. No more humming and hawing in front of the open freezer. I could just pop a stick of gum in everyone's mouths, and that's it!! A three course meal  in an instant. *sigh*
Of course, you can leave all that turning blue stuff, and growing to the size of a giant blueberry... that's definetly not a look I want to experiment with!